Of friendship and karaoke
by Lunatic-With-A-Pen
Summary: Yowane Haku is nothing but a failed copy of Hatsune Miku. Akita Neru deems otherwise. So when Neru ropes her into singing karaoke, will Haku realize she's more than that?


Disclaimer: I do not own any characers feauterd in this story, nor do I own the lyrics Haku sings.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I liked writing it.

* * *

Yowane Haku was nothing.

Nothing at all.

She was, simply put, a failed copy of Hatsune Miku, teen idol extraordinaire.

Haku knew this, of course. She also knew she would never be able to sing like she should - after all, Miku generally sang high notes, and Haku could never be able to sing like _that_.

All in all, she was a failure.

Not according to Akita Neru though.

Neru would drag Haku away from the bar when she was drunk, pull Haku's purple tie so that they were at the same height, and tell her, firmly, that the next time Haku did this, Neru would beat the crap outta her.

Neru never did though.

But now - this time - Akita Neru did not repeat her threat. Instead, she said, "Damnit, Haku, stop trying to imitate Miku! You can't sing like her!"

That was a rude slap to Haku. She herself knew she could never reach Miku's level - but _Neru_ saying this? Haku felt like curling up in a corner and just die.

Neru's expression softened when she realized how her words had affected her friend. "Haku! I didn't mean it like that, I mean the _scale_! You can sing lower notes than her, but you can't sing higher!" When Haku remained in her current position - slouched over the counter-top, a half-filled cup of sake next to her - Neru did something she had threatened to, but never did.

She slapped Haku. Hard.

Haku's eyes widened, and she blinked, dazed. Neru thrust a piece of paper at Haku, who accepted it without really registering what she did. Neru pulled her over to the stage of the karaoke bar - Haku had chosen the first and best bar - and stopped there.

"Haku. This paper is a song with notes about...two octaves below what Miku sings. Around there. Anyway, you're gonna go up there, and you're gonna sing that song," Neru commanded. Seeing her slightly tipsy friend about object, she cut her off, "No buts, Haku. You're gonna sing this, to the whole bar, and you're gonna realize how awesome your voice really is. Understood?" Haku nodded dumbly, silently walking onstage. The speakers started blasting out music and Haku looked at the paper, then the audience.

She froze. How could she sing in front of so many people? What if she messed up? What if she was recognized? Haku swallowed nervously. The music was approaching the point where she would have to start singing, but her heartbeats practically drowned out the loud music.

Finally, she opened her mouth.

And Yowane Haku sang.

"Sakura hirahira maiorite ochite"

Well, that wasn't too bad. She sang a few more lines, glad Neru had chosen this song.

Heck, she was happy Neru had forced her into this.

For the first time ever, Haku found singing _fun_!

Haku glanced down at the paper. Damn, there would be a part where she would sing without musical accompaniment! What if she screwed up?

"_Sakura hirahira maiorite ochite_

_Yureru omoi no take wo dakishimeta_" Ouch. Her voice squeaked a bit on the last note. Panicking slightly - Haku felt like she'd already messed up forever - she glanced down at the audience. None of them had reacted! None of them was screaming at her for being a failure, or for singing a false note, or covering their ears at her voice. Neru grinned at her and gave her a thumb up. Haku smiled a bit. Nobody noticed!

She stayed onstage after she san the last note, expecting applause.

Nobody clapped.

The failed Vocaloid felt nervous. What if they had noticed the one mess-up? What if she wasn't as good as she thought she just had been? What if -

Someone started to clap. The bartender, a portly man in his forties, stood, clapping slowly, a shocked expression on his face. Others joined in, some (generally the later arrivals) standing, the others too drunk to stand, all applauding the so-called "failed" Vocaloid. A whole bar applauding a Miku-copy gone wrong.

The whole bar applauding her - _her_! Yowane Haku!

Not Miku, not Rin, not Len. Yowane Haku.

She could hardly believe it. How..._fun_ it had been, to sing, and not sound horrible. Maybe there was hope for her after all. Maybe she wasn't a failure!

Dazed by all this, the silver-haired Vocaloid stepped down from the stage, only to be met by her grinning best friend.

"See? Told ya you could sing!"

Haku smiled.

"So...I hope you won't mind singing in front of Miku and the others tomorrow."

To this, Haku did not smile. Rather, she opted for hyperventilation.

* * *

About Haku's voice, some fans give her a voice two octaves below Miku's. So, I figured I could do the same here.

Please review.


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